French designer Pierre Hardy launched his eponymous line of women's shoes in 1999, following up its success with a men's line in 2002. Prior to launching his namesake brand, Hardy designed shoe collections for Christian Dior, was creative director for women's and men's shoe collections at Hermes, and helped Nicolas Ghesquiere develop Balenciaga's shoe collections for men and women. Hardy's signatures include sculpted volume, color blocking, cut outs, and metallic accents.